Fashion Memoir
6 total works
Chanel is a fashion word that everyone knows: the epitome of taste, glamour and style. Founded in the '20s by the legendary Coco Chanel, the House of Chanel continues to fuel fashion to this day. This book illustrates in colour the trademarks of Chanel style - the little black dress, the instantly recognizable Chanel suit, the glittering costume jewelry - and explores the outstanding career of the woman who credited her success to "having been in the right place at the right time".
Designer Elsa Schiaparelli remains one of the most extraordinary figures of the fashion world between the wars. Her eccentricity and wit, and the surrealist and baroque influences in her work, have often placed her in opposition to Chanel, her great rival. She shocked, amazed and stunned in a world where elegance rhymes with extravagance.
Combining corsetry and heels, shoulder pads and nipped-in waists, Thierry Mugler's sexy, vampish designs have been a feature on the catwalks since the early 70s. Influenced by the figure-hugging styles of the 1940s and 1950s, he designs for voluptuous women with a taste for the dramatic, and a sense of humour.
Christian Lacroix founded his own fashion house in the 1980s, launching elegant collections, and bringing new life to the haute couture. This book reveals a shy man who loved theatre, literature and tradition. His nature seems more like that of an artist, and he nourishes himself on "remembrance of things past" and the culture that influenced his designs.
After working for a number of different houses, Paul Poiret set up on his own in 1904 and a few years later was influential in creating a fundamental change in female dress - flowing clothes inspired by orientalism. This text presents his work in textiles, perfumery and decorative arts.